Day 5 in Beira

Last day in Beira was a day of rest. We hit the beach early and witnessed the fishing boats returning from their early catch. As soon as the boats hit the sand, the ladies move forward to haul the nets full of fish out of the boats. I guess this makes sense as the men are tired from navigating on the choppy sea with paddles in a carved out canoe! The women immediately begin sorting the fish from the jellyfish and other non-valuable sea creatures caught in the net. Money is exchanged on the beach based on value of the catch and the women take the fish into the village for immediate sale. It was amazing to watch!

Apparently this type of fishing is illegal, and every once and a while the police come around and shake up the informal fisherman. One must have a license to fish on the coast as there are quotas to ensure sustainable fishing takes place. Unfortunately these licenses are expensive and are allocated mostly to larger vessels. From what I understand in many cases the fishing is allocated to foreign fisherman who export their catch to developed markets. However this type of fishing is the livelihood of many on the coast. It provides work for the informal fisherman and the women who sort and sell the catch, as well as providing food for many people in the city.

We ended our day sharing a whole peri-peri chicken cooked right on the beach with friends.